Caglayan-Akay, EbruErtok-Onurlu, MerveKomuryakan, Fulden2025-05-292025-05-2920252524-5295https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-025-00234-7https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12428/29903Beginning in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic caused serious difficulties worldwide, with Türkiye significantly being impacted from March 2020. The Turkish government implemented strict measures, including lockdowns, curfews, and age-specific restrictions, to reduce virus spread and minimize mortality. These measures led to increased social isolation, restricted mobility, and heightened anxiety, affected individual happiness. This study examines changes in happiness levels in Türkiye across pre-pandemic (2019), during-pandemic (2020), and post-pandemic (2021) periods, and evaluates the impact of pandemic-related policies and government support campaigns. Using three waves of the nationally representative Life Satisfaction Survey from the Turkish Statistical Institute and employing the partial proportional odds model, which avoids bias by relaxing the parallel lines assumption and preventing over-parameterization, this study finds that happiness levels were significantly impacted by the pandemic and its restrictions in 2020, with a persistent reduction even after restrictions were lifted in 2021. Happiness levels varied significantly by age in 2020, with younger individuals and those aged 65 and above experiencing declines compared to pre- and post-pandemic periods, likely due to strict pandemic restrictions. Marriage and living in larger households were associated with higher happiness levels, whereas economic factors and health concerns had less impact. Employed individuals and those without serious health conditions generally reported higher happiness levels during the pandemic. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of happiness changes during the pandemic and suggests future policies should consider long-term mental health and social well-being. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessCOVID-19 pandemicGeneralized ordered logit modelHappinessOrdered response modelsPartial proportional odds modelRestrictionsArticle10.1007/s42413-025-00234-72-s2.0-85218735129Q1